Real Salt Lake Rally Past Austin FC 2-1 as Lobjanidze and Guilavogui Lift RSL Above the Playoff Line

For three minutes on Wednesday night, Jorge Alastuey owned Q2 Stadium. The Austin FC midfielder settled a half-cleared ball, took a touch and ripped a left-footed shot from about 25 yards into the bottom right corner for his first career MLS goal. It was the kind of strike that gets replayed on a loop.

Then Real Salt Lake hit the remote. Saba Lobjanidze curled in an equalizer in the 55th minute, Morgan Guilavogui finished a counterattack in the 61st, and RSL left Texas with a 2-1 win that shoved them above the playoff line with two games to play. Austin, meanwhile, were eliminated from playoff contention in front of 20,738 fans.

Austin Start Hot, RSL Take Over

The hosts came out swinging. Myrto Uzuni tested Rafael Cabral from distance in the third minute, and the RSL captain had to stretch to push it over. Uzuni was back in the box four minutes later with one shot blocked and another dragged wide. If Austin were going to make a final stand, this was what it looked like.

It did not last. Real Salt Lake slowly took the ball and the territory. Dominik Marczuk fired four shots in the first half alone, Sergi Solans dragged a shot wide in the 30th after a clever back-heel from Lobjanidze, and Damian Las saved a Guilavogui drive aimed at the top left corner in the 34th. A minute later, Guilavogui picked up a yellow card that will matter more than it looked at the time.

Lobjanidze then had a chipped finish wiped out for offside late in the half, and Luc de Fougerolles sent a shot just past the top left corner after a corner. The first half ended 0-0, with no added time announced and plenty for Austin to worry about.

Three Minutes of Joy, Then the Turn

Austin struck first, and it was gorgeous. Alastuey's 52nd-minute rocket came out of nothing, a loose ball from a cleared cross turned into a highlight.

Real Salt Lake answered almost immediately. Stijn Spierings found Juan Manuel Sanabria on the left, Sanabria slid the ball inside to Lobjanidze, and the Georgian curled a right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the top right corner. One-all, 55 minutes in, and the air went out of the building.

Six minutes later RSL had the lead. Solans led the break, beat his man and squared it, and Guilavogui buried it first time through the middle of the goal. Las was booked in the same minute, which summed up how quickly things had unraveled for Austin.

The rest was survival. Austin threw on Przemyslaw Placheta, Brendan Hines-Ike, Christian Ramírez and Zan Kolmanic. A VAR check in the 74th minute ended with no penalty for the hosts. Pablo Mastroeni answered with a triple change in the 79th, sending on Ariath Piol, DeAndre Yedlin and Justen Glad, and then the fourth official put up nine minutes of stoppage time.

Austin used every second. Rafael Cabral stopped Placheta in the 90th, Brandon Vázquez headed wide in the second minute of stoppage time, and Rafael Cabral stopped Placheta again two minutes later. RSL held on.

The Men Who Flipped It

Saba Lobjanidze is starting to look like the summer arrival that changed a season. He only joined in early July, and RSL count this as his fourth goal in his first season with the club and his fourth in his last 10 matches. The finish was pure technique.

Morgan Guilavogui has turned into a road warrior. The winner was his fifth goal of the season and his third across RSL's last two road wins, after a brace in Kansas City. He took four shots, put two on target and created chances all night. The catch: that first-half yellow means he will miss Saturday's game at San Jose through caution accumulation, per the club.

Sergi Solans keeps stacking numbers in his rookie season. The assist was his 18th goal contribution of 2026, and RSL say he now has a team-high seven game-deciding goals or assists.

Rafael Cabral made four saves, and the two late ones on Placheta were the difference between three points and one.

For Austin, Alastuey deserved better than a losing night for his first MLS goal, and Uzuni was the most dangerous player on the field early with five shots.

Turning Point: The Six-Minute Swing

Austin's lead was the high point of their night, and it was gone almost before the celebration ended. Down 1-0, RSL did not wobble. They went straight back up the field and scored, then broke again six minutes later. That counterpunch, from Solans to Guilavogui, is the whole game. Austin spent the final half hour chasing, and when you are already out of playoff contention, chasing a team with something to play for is a brutal assignment.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: RSL out-shot Austin 20 to 16, but put only four on target. Two of those four went in.
• Saves: Rafael Cabral made four stops; Las made two.
• Crossing: Austin attempted 28 crosses and completed nine. RSL completed just two of 20.
• Clearances: RSL cleared the ball 27 times to Austin's 14, a fair snapshot of the final 30 minutes.
• Possession: RSL held a slight edge at 51.4 percent.

What It Means

Real Salt Lake are 12-6-14 with 42 points, now above the playoff line and a point clear of the LA Galaxy with two matches left. They have won three straight and are unbeaten in four, and according to the club, this was their first set of back-to-back road wins since April 2024. Mastroeni also started the same XI for a fourth straight match, which RSL says is a first in his five-plus years in charge.

The run-in is a gauntlet: a Halloween matinee at San Jose without Guilavogui, then a home finale on Nov. 7 against, of course, the Galaxy.

Austin are 8-10-14 with 34 points, and the club has not won at home since a 3-1 win over Seattle on July 22. Real Salt Lake beat them 2-1 in both meetings this season, and both times Austin scored first.

The Closing Take

Real Salt Lake spent a long stretch of this season buried, including a 13-game winless run. Now they are the team that keeps climbing out of the ground in the final reel, and their next game is literally on Halloween. You could not write it more on the nose. Austin got the best goal of the night. RSL got the points, the playoff spot and the momentum, and right now that is the only plot that matters.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Additional match details as reported by RSL.com and AustinFC.com.